Major League Baseball

Darvish backs off, comments on Tanaka's deal were a joke

Published Feb. 18, 2014 3:30 p.m. ET

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SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Texas Rangers ace Yu Darvish drew laughs from the Japanese media with his comments about the contract given to New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.

Following the media session, Darvish said the comments were a joke.

"I am sorry if anyone took my comment seriously about Masahiro Tanaka at the press conference today," Darvish said in a statement. "I assumed by the reaction in the room that everyone knew I was joking."

Earlier when asked about the new posting system and how it impacted the contract given to Tanaka, Darvish said "I don’t know the details of the posting system but I think the Yankees gave him a little bit too much."

Darvish signed a six year, $56-million deal before the 2012 season. The Yankees gave Tanaka $155 million over seven years this offseason.

Darvish, whose answer came through an interpreter, tweeted that his comment was a joke. "OMG. Everybody at the press conference knows that I was just joking," he tweeted.

He followed that with another tweet about the situation. "This is a tweet with an ill intention. I will never talk about Tanaka anymore."

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